The X-Guard is an advanced position used for an arsenal of offensive techniques. It’s a powerful guard to sweep with as you can unbalance your opponent in every direction and often go directly into a pass. You can use the X-Guard to attack submissions like triangles, omoplatas, and armbars, and it’s tricky to pass, as your opponent’s base and balance are immediately compromised. That’s why many of today’s top competitors employ the X-Guard and its variations to subdue advancing passers and attack from the bottom.
Jon Satava is one of those top competitors and black belt under Marcelo Garcia, the man who brought the X-Guard to the competition forefront.
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Sometimes the triangle isn’t always available if your opponent is too far away. In that case, the arm is still available for the omoplata shoulder lock. Or you can sweep from the omoplata and set up attacks from the top.
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Sometimes your opponent will drop to one knee when in the X-Guard to lower his base and prevent being swept backwards. When this happens, you can still sweep him forwards if you remove his posting arm, and often you can go right into a pass off the sweep.
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